Joshua

Traditionally interpreted as “Yahweh is salvation” or “God is salvation.”

Joshua is a masculine given name with Hebrew roots, widely known from the Hebrew Bible and later Christian tradition, and very common in modern English usage. It reads as traditional and familiar, and it has stayed consistently recognizable across generations. In name references, Joshua is commonly connected to the Hebrew name Yehoshua (with historical shortened forms), and it is traditionally interpreted with a meaning along the lines of “Yahweh is salvation” or “God is salvation.” The exact linguistic explanation can be presented differently by source, but the salvation-related interpretation is widely repeated in mainstream references. English pronunciation is usually JOSH-yoo-uh, with three syllables. Josh is a very common everyday nickname, which makes the full name easy to shorten without losing recognizability.

Etymology: A biblical name from Hebrew tradition; commonly linked to the Hebrew name Yehoshua (often shortened historically), with a meaning connected to “salvation.”